Go off the grid with rain barrels

Last year, John Bouman maintained his garden and lawn without a drop of city water.

Instead, the founder of Urban Water Tower ( urbanwatertower.com), a company that designs rainwater harvesting units, used the 2,270 litres of rainwater he captured and stored in his yard.

Urban Water Tower’s elevated metal stands hold rain barrels and feature a “first flush” system to capture rainwater that comes off a roof, reducing the amount of leaves, dust, pollen and other debris that goes into a rain barrel.

“It’s a purer form of water,” Bouman says, noting that the system lets people combine as many rain barrels as they want.

Pumps are also included so gardeners can use pressurized hoses to irrigate their yards.

Storing rainwater “stops pollutants from going into the rivers. Any water you can capture is saving the environment,” says Bouman, an exhibitor at this weekend’s garden show.

“It becomes more of a natural way of filtering water. It’s a win- win situation.”